I've always heard about the "terrible two's", but I had yet to truly experience them until a month or so ago....they are completely exhausting. Reese is definitely in a phase that I would be more than happy if she out grew quickly. I feel like I am failing as a parent because I don't know how to handle this phase. She is such a smart little cookie, so I find myself trying to reason with her...reason with an almost 2 year old, forget it! So then I tried the ignore method...it does seem helpful for the little fits, but not the big tantrums. Distraction...works sometimes, but not always. Time out chair...semi effective when she doesn't make herself throw-up from crying so hard. Maybe this is just completely normal, or maybe she is a tough kid. Either way I just never expected it to be so hard. Tonight, I can't even count the number of meltdowns that took place in a 2 hour period. Maybe call it one massive dinner, bath time, bedtime tantrum. It was so bad that Reese's final words before she fell asleep were, "Mommy, I crying so much!" This leads me to believe she has no idea what she is even crying about...it actually breaks my heart.
Mommy's out there, any advice? Any good books you have read for strong willed children?
2 comments:
Oh Stacey. :( I do not miss the 2s or the 3s for that matter. Here I just graduated from the 3s with Lane and will do it all over again with Adilyn. Ugh.
Do what you're doing. It is exhausting. You are not failing. It's literally just a time of consistency with discipline and reminding them that the world doesn't revolve around them. Ha!
I agree, the ignoring of the mini fits works well. It just shows them that they won't get what they want, it doesn't work. Distractions are fantastic but as you know don't always work. Seriously it sounds like you're doing everything I have/would do.
Thankfully I've never had a crying puker. :( For Lane a time out was devastating enough and spoke worlds to him. Kailyn...to this day doesn't give a rip what come out of my mouth. I'm convinced she's just waiting to be 18 so she can move out. Ugh.
Keep it up. It will seem like it will never end. It will. But then she'll be able to reason and argue you. Ha ha ha ha.
Oh...books...I have read The Strong-Willed Child by Dobson. I didn't love it honestly. It's worth your time though if you're interested. My favorite of all time (not a strong will focus) is Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson.
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